There is a heretofore known chair-type massage apparatus featuring a backrest having a built-in massage device for allowing a pair of right-side and left-side massage members to produce massaging actions.
The massage member provided in the massage device of this type comprises arm members extending outward from the interior of the backrest toward a user, and treatment elements (massage balls) disposed on the front-end sides of the arm members. The massage device is designed to move the treatment elements disposed at the front end of the massage member close to and away from each other in a horizontal direction, thereby giving a kneading massage to the back of a user (refer to Patent Literature 1, for example).
Moreover, the massage device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is so configured that the massage member can be moved up and down in a vertical direction by a vertical movement mechanism (up-and-down mechanism) disposed inside the backrest. By making changes to the level of the treatment element while effecting a kneading massage, it is possible to give the kneading massage to a wider area of the back of a user in the vertical direction.